Caterpillar brand graces everything from apparel to collectibles

Saying the word "Caterpillar" in Peoria invokes visions of classic yellow tractors, while a NASCAR fan at Talladega Superspeedway knows it as car No. 31 and a 20-year-old shopper in Chile might say it's the maker of his favorite shoes.

Saying the word "Caterpillar" in Peoria invokes visions of classic yellow tractors, while a NASCAR fan at Talladega Superspeedway knows it as car No. 31 and a 20-year-old shopper in Chile might say it's the maker of his favorite shoes.

As the world's leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, Caterpillar isn't afraid to dip its steel-toed boots into markets outside of construction and manufacturing, netting $1.1 billion in licensing in 2012 and notching the No. 50 spot in License! Global Magazine's list of top licensers.

Of the 2,500 items stocked in the merchandise center at the Caterpillar Visitors Center, men's work wear is tops in sales, said Sarah Gutchall, vice president of retail operations at the Cat Merchandise Center. But the merchandise isn't limited to button downs with pocket logos.

"As our work force has changed the last 10 to 20 years, we have to adapt to that," Mark Jostes, program manager of retail business development said. "We used to have a white shirt, a block shirt and a yellow shirt. People now want energy, color and variety in their workstyle."

That variety can be observed with a glance to the hat selection available at the Cat Merchandise Center in Downtown Peoria, where rows of caps vary from classic ball caps and hunter's orange to stocking caps and panama hats.

"The goal is we want people to add to the hat collection, not have just one," Gutchall said. "Customers will send pictures of the back of their door outfitted with little posts all filled with Cat hats."

Caterpillar's apparel line started as the company provided supplies for its own employees: office shirts and work boots, depending on your job description. Today the options available for employees, family members or fans of the brand are widely expanded.

From bright colors and designs, womenswear has been diversified in recent years to include clothes, shoes and accessories for on and off the job.

"You don't expect to see cute stuff like this here," Gutchall said holding a wedge sandal.

Caterpillar's merchandise isn't limited to mom and dad. Children's attire has risen in popularity as the company reaches out to families and future Caterpillar employees.

"It's continuing to grow for us, especially in this location because we have so many families and children in here," Gutchall said. "The toys, we just can't keep them on the shelf."

Those replicas include limited editions of classic tractors that have moved dirt for over a century.

Page 2 of 2 - That recognizable tractor lends both its image and name to another Downtown Peoria landmark: Dozer Park, home to the Class A minor-league baseball team the Peoria Chiefs.

The park's logo depicts a yellow tractor rolling over home plate that closely resembles the D4K2 Caterpillar Bulldozer on display near the third base line, a tractor type known colloquially as the dozer, for short.

"People at home know it as the dozer. That represents the company that's headquartered here in Peoria, but it's still a fun name," Caterpillar spokeswoman Lisa Miller said.

The mainstay for Caterpillar's global brand is its iconic footwear.

The Caterpillar boot became a staple for the company's brand impression nearly two decades ago. Since 1994 the company has sold 109 million pairs of shoes worldwide.

"Globally, outside of the U.S., we're more of a lifestyle brand," Jostes said.

The 71 standalone Caterpillar merchandise stores in foreign countries market largely to 14- to 24-year-olds with casual items such as jeans, T-shirts and shoes that are "rough and rugged, yet durable and comfortable," Jostes said.

Caterpillar uses its equipment archive to find unique items with vintage appeal, such as a refreshing take on a work-style boot worn by Caterpillar employees in the 1920s and 1930s, redesigned in maroon for modern appeal.

With options ranging from sandals to sneakers to the ever-popular steel-toed boots, Caterpillar's footwear department continues to grow and sell.

And with 17.5 million products sold worldwide last year, the Caterpillar logo has gone more places than ever before.